AN ANALYSIS OF EFL STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN CATEGORIZING ENGLISH WORD CLASSES BASED ON THEIR MENTAL LEXICON
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.23969/jp.v11i03.61901Keywords:
EFL students, mental lexicon, word classes, word categorization, qualitative descriptive research.Abstract
This study aimed to analyze EFL students' difficulties in categorizing English word classes based on their mental lexicon at SMKN 5 Mataram. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed involving fifteen tenth-grade students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a Word Categorization Test and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, including data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The findings revealed that students experienced difficulties in categorizing abstract nouns, morphologically complex words, and words with multiple grammatical functions. The interview results indicated that these difficulties were influenced by reliance on semantic meaning, limited morphological awareness, difficulties in retrieving grammatical information, and weak lexical connections within the students' mental lexicon. Although most students correctly categorized familiar words, they encountered problems when processing unfamiliar or context-dependent vocabulary. The study concludes that the organization of the mental lexicon plays a significant role in students' ability to categorize English word classes accurately. Therefore, English vocabulary instruction should emphasize not only word meanings but also morphological knowledge, grammatical functions, and contextual usage to strengthen students' lexical organization and improve language learning outcomes.
Downloads
References
Agustín Llach, M. P. (2023). Mapping the mental lexicon of EFL learners: A network approach. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 33(1), 1–12.
Asdar, Hustiana, & Ahyadi. (2023). Familiarity with part of speech classification among EFL students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 14(3), 793–801.
Bailey, L., Lockary, M., & Higby, E. (2024). Cross-linguistic influence and mental mapping conflict in bilingual lexical processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 27(3), 495–512.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2024). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications, pp. 3–7.
Devina. (2022). Cross-linguistic influence and lexical transfer in second language processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44(2), 215–230.
Doyle, L., McCabe, C., Keogh, B., Brady, A., & McCann, M. (2023). Qualitative descriptive research: An acceptable design. Nurse Researcher, 31(1), 1–4.
Ellis, N. C., & Larsen-Freeman, D. (2022). Usage-based approaches to language acquisition. Language Learning, 72(S1), 45–49.
Feng, Y., & Liu, Y. (2023). The developmental trajectories of L2 lexical-semantic networks. Modern Language Journal, 107(2), 1–15.
Hanafiah, et al. (2022). EFL learners in non-native contexts: Challenges and development. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(1), 1–10.
Hustiana. (2023). Students' problems in learning parts of speech. Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies, 10(1), 145–146.
Jiang, X. (2023). Review of research on EFL learners' mental lexicon. Language Teaching Research, 27(1), 54–58.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2020). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, pp. 7–12.
Mirman, D., & Middleton, E. L. (2022). Lexical storage and retrieval mechanisms in language processing. Cognitive Science, 46(4), 615–628.
Orita, et al. (2023). Self-study online vocabulary learning program to promote the restructuring of the L2 English mental lexicon. JAECS Research Journal, 25, 85–102.
Papafragou, A., Trueswell, J. C., & Gleitman, L. R. (2022). Mental lexicon theory and cognitive language processing. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(8), 1–6.
Ramadhani, & Ovilia, Y. (2022). Understanding parts of speech in EFL context. English Language Teaching Journal, 15(2), 1–6.
ten Bosch, L., Boves, L., & Ernestus, M. (2022). DIANA (Directions Into the Auditory Neural Activation) model and word recognition. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 151(4), 4.2–4.3.
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. (n.d.). English word classes. Cambridge University Press.
van Hell, J. M. (2022). Multilink model and bilingual lexical processing. Language Learning, 72(3), 583–597.
Yoo, H., & Lee, J. (2023). Category ambiguity and contextual lexical processing in EFL learners. System, 112, 71–87.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pendas : Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dasar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
